


lonely night

by overdose



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overdose/pseuds/overdose
Summary: He’s chosen the hard route of this romance, Itaru quickly realizes. No one said it would be easy, especially with someone like Masumi.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru/Usui Masumi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	lonely night

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be shorter and not sad but then this happened,,, I'm a bit embarrassed to post it but. I need to spread my rare ship agenda.

Masumi rises from his bed without speaking up. The shuffling sheets and his feet hitting the floor is what catches Tsuzuru’s attention, looking away from his laptop. He wonders if he should say something. Masumi grabs his pillow and blanket, so that means he’s not going to the bathroom. It’s late, and everyone should be sleeping. Where would Masumi go at this hour?

Then, it dwells on Tsuzuru. He grins to himself remembering the strange relationship Masumi found for himself. “I’ll be here if you decide to come back,” the playwright says.

Masumi hides his blush behind the pillow. “...Okay.”

He rushes out of their dorm room with nothing else to say, shutting the door behind him as he treads to another room. Sneaking away, Masumi clutches his belongings, unable to suppress the smile on his lips. Thankfully no one’s awake or hanging around to catch him. He already knows Itaru is awake, hearing the click-clack of his keyboard and gamer lingo rolling off his tongue when he presses his ear to the door, so he casually strolls in.

Itaru doesn’t notice. Masumi never told him he was coming over, which meant all of his energy went into gaming for the night. Headphones on, cursing at the stranger online who just totaled his kill streak, he can’t sense the second presence in his room.

Masumi looks around with conflicted feelings. Did it get messier the last time he visited? His room is a mess with casual clothes tossed aside — only his work suits are neatly left in their little corner, untouched — and there are miscellaneous items thrown around. Itaru’s desk is even more of a disaster with cans of energy drinks and junk food spiraled about, his phone set to the side auto-playing the daily dungeons on one of his games. Masumi shakes his head. It can’t be helped. By some weird twist of fate, he’s fallen for the gamer, and everything he does is endearing yet strange.

He sighs and drops his stuff on Itaru’s couch. There’s no way he’s staying the night in that messy cave. Masumi temporarily leaves his room to get cleaning supplies, and he returns quickly where Itaru is still in the same spot, still gaming, still oblivious to his boyfriend.

Masumi’s smile almost falters.

Opening a trash bag, he begins picking up empty cans, wrappers, any garbage he sees on the floor. It’s a miracle the salaryman has no pests running around in his room. As he cleans, his smile finally falls, eyebrows furrowed. Even when dating someone, Itaru’s habits remain the same. Masumi can’t expect him to change overnight, so that means he has to love his boyfriend even more and pester him all the time.

Yeah, that’s what he has to do. Nuzzle against Itaru like a cat, whispering sweet nothings of how they’ll be together forever, how he can teach Masumi how to play games and rank like a pro. Maybe Masumi will find a best girl or boy that can encourage him to play, but he knows no one can compare to Itaru. His frown disappears, and he ties the trash bag, setting it near the door. He’s too sleepy to throw it out.

Noticing a lone laundry basket in the corner, Masumi begins to pick up clothes. He doesn’t know what’s dirty or not, but the distinct gamer scent intrigues Masumi and tells him it's been used more than once. The basket gets filled up, and an idea pops into his head. They can do laundry tomorrow… that is if Itaru can sacrifice a few moments away from his phone. Just two of them alone, laughing to themselves, distracted by each other's presence.

The fantasy makes his smile widen, and after scanning the room, he stretches with a yawn. He's exhausted. Sleepy. It’s time to dream about his future with Itaru. Climbing in the bed, he forgets about his pillow and blanket. Masumi uses Itaru’s stuff instead, happily wrapping his body up. His eyes feel heavy, and picking up all that junk made him feel even more tired.

Masumi sighs. He’s not disappointed. He can’t be. Gaming is Itaru’s thing, it’s what he does. Then again, if it were Masumi, he would definitely notice Itaru if he walked in. Well, there’s no point in getting angry before bed. Itaru has to stop gaming some time, right? So, Masumi closes his eyes, drifting off to sleep as he feels his lips quiver.

The bed feels empty and cold, inexplicably lonely without his boyfriend. He hugs himself.

“ _Fuck!_ ” Itaru tears off his headphones after another loss. His teammates sucked, no one matched his skill, it was a fucking mess that caused him precious time. He grumbles to himself and reaches for his flat, half-empty drink, gulping it down. Throwing it into the overflown mini trash can near his desk, Itaru picks up his headphones after subduing his anger. There’s no point in playing when he’s full of rage. If he doesn’t knock out the moment he gets into bed, he’ll probably jerk it a few times and come back.

“I’m done for now, guys. GG,” Itaru lies because it _wasn’t_ a good game for him. Tonight, something felt off, and he doesn’t know what. He knows it's best to step away before he makes careless mistakes, though. Itaru shuts everything off and grabs his phone. Stamina depleted, daily rewards received, he’s satisfied with all of his games for tonight. Standing, he stretches his limbs out with a groan and heads to bed.

Itaru’s not sure if it’s the lack of sleep that makes him see a body huddled underneath his blanks. He moves it to the side and almost falls, cursing under his breath.

Fuck.

Shit.

How long has Masumi been there?

And now that he’s more aware of his surroundings, he turns around to look at his room. It’s clean. His laundry basket is full, there’s a garbage bag tied up, and there’s a teenage boy inside his bed curled up like a cat.

Itaru’s heart drops. He checks his messages, and nope, nothing from Masumi. That doesn’t excuse how he blatantly ignored him coming to visit. There's no way he can make it up to him… but Masumi stayed, so he can't be _that_ mad. Right?

“Uh, hey,” Itaru clears his throat and stays on the edge, watching Masumi stir. What does he say? Does he apologize for being such an awful boyfriend? Playing visual novels doesn’t help with IRL relationships as much as Itaru would like it to. A list of choices pops up in his head: remain silent, apologize, kiss Masumi, or miserably fail at explaining his wrongdoings. None of them seem to gain points with Masumi.

“...I hate you,” Masumi murmurs with his eyes still closed, turning his back toward Itaru.

“I-” Itaru begins. “Alright, yeah, I know,” he takes a deep breath before continuing. “I’m… sorry, Masumi.”

Why the hell is that so hard to say? It’s not like Itaru has any pride left, but he realizes being a boyfriend is harder than ranking in any event. He feels _awful_. He hates seeing Masumi so dejected. “I’m a shitty boyfriend. I deserve the cold shoulder you’re giving me.”

“Yeah. You’re awful.” Masumi sniffles. Despite his tone, he makes room for Itaru. He still doesn’t turn around.

Itaru waits for him to give in. Hearing that sniffle snapped him back to reality, and he holds onto the bed, biting his lips as he tries to come up with something. This isn’t a game. He can’t reload and try again until he gets the decision right. And Masumi doesn’t _need_ to forgive him. Itaru understands if he wants to give him a deadly stare and insult him for the next week or two.

“Fuck. I'm sorry. If you wanna be alone, I’ll-”

Masumi immediately turns toward Itaru mid-sentence. Yeah, that was the wrong thing to say. Itaru cringes at himself. At least gaming has given him a sixth sense when he fucks up a reply.

“Don’t leave me.” Masumi’s eyes have a certain watery glow to them in the darkness. Of course, that’s the _last_ thing he needs after Itaru forgot his existence for the night. “Stay.”

He’s chosen the hard route of this romance, Itaru quickly realizes. No one said it would be easy, especially with someone like Masumi. “Okay. Make some room,” he says, climbing in. Masumi clings to him, and Itaru kisses his head. He sees a smile flash on the boy’s lips, though it goes away, eyebrows creasing into a rejected gaze.

Why is Masumi with him, anyway? They never even got along in the first place. How is this relationship still going on? Hell, he doesn’t _deserve_ Masumi. The boy went to check on him, and even though he got _ignored_ , he still cleaned up the mancave Itaru lives in. There's no way Masumi would want to keep the relationship going after this.

Itaru stares at his peaceful face. Masumi’s eyes are closed, and he’s trying to sleep, breathing steadily. It’s his fault things are so bad.

“You deserve better,” he shatters the silence.

Masumi’s eyes open, and he sits up quickly, waiting for Itaru to continue as he fidgets with his fingers. Itaru can tell he made him anxious. _Why do I suck so much_ , he scolds himself.

“You deserve someone who won’t treat you like garbage. I’m sorry, Masumi, but I’m a shitty boyfriend. I’m not really cut out for this.”

A guidebook for relationships can’t help Itaru out here, but he knows it’s best to end things before they _both_ get hurt.

“You deserve someone better, you know? Someone who’ll return the affection in the way you do. I’m awful at this. All I am is a liar who puts up a front, Masumi, and I don’t think I can give you what you want.”

He likes Masumi, but the teenager needs someone else, not a salaryman who spends all of his free time gaming and eating junk food. When he voices his concern, Masumi laughs, then hugs him. Itaru raises his brow in confusion.

“But I love you,” Masumi declares. “And I don’t care about any of that. What I want is you.”

It’s Itaru’s turn to laugh. “Why would you love someone like me?”

Masumi moves away to stare right into Itaru’s eyes. “Why would you love someone like _me_?” he repeats the question.

“Huh?”

“You’re not the only one who’s bad at this. I don't know anything about relationships,” Masumi replies. “I do know I want you to be mine… Mine only,” he adds for emphasis.

Itaru remembers how jealous Masumi can get. With that jealousy comes possessiveness, and from what Itaru can tell… insecurity? He doesn’t know how to respond. Masumi is more than enough. He’s perfect. That’s why Itaru can't risk hurting him more than he already has.

“I’m over what happened earlier. You’re here, so… We can spend the rest of the night together.”

“Doing what? Sleeping?” Itaru jokes.

“Mhm. Or I can watch you play games. If you think I dislike that about you, I don’t.”

Even though he’s definitely made fun of Itaru’s habits. Maybe that’s his way of flirting.

Laughing again, Itaru lies down and stares at the ceiling. “Seriously, Masumi,” he sighs. “I’m not worth it. Girls confess to you all the time. Choose them instead of me. You can go on dates and hold hands in public instead of hiding your relationship with me."

"I chose to be with _you_ ," Masumi joins him and nuzzles closely. "Doesn’t that say something? Do you think I _want_ to show you off in public, anyway? You're for my eyes only."

He’s so stubborn… Itaru won’t get out of the relationship so easily, then. He doesn’t want to, really, but he can’t help past insecurities getting to him. "Alright,” he gives in to Masumi’s cuddles. They’ll work on it. Itaru will work on himself. “I'm sorry for earlier, though. That was a dick move.”

"It's fine… but if you ignore me like that again, I'll break up with you." Masumi calmly says. Itaru believes him. "And next time, you're helping me clean up. Your room is disgusting,” he insults and closes his eyes after, snuggling by Itaru’s side. Masumi yawns. “...but I’m tired, so goodnight. Expect more scolding tomorrow."

Itaru plants a kiss on his head and chuckles. “I’m all yours tomorrow, Masumi. Goodnight.”

He would wait until his boyfriend is fast asleep to say _it_ , but he’s feeling confident tonight. Listening to his breathing, the quietness makes him hesitate. _It's fine. You’re fine._ Masumi wants to hear it. Itaru needs to say it.

“I love you,” he finally says, a heavy weight gone from his shoulders to his rapidly beating heart. “Masumi.”

Itaru expected an answer faster than he could blink, but by the looks of it, Masumi’s asleep.

That’s… disappointing.

“Already? Jeez. Way to stall a guy.”

He sighs. It’s alright. He has more opportunities to say it again and again.

Joining Masumi in slumber, Itaru locks their hands together. They don’t let go of each other.


End file.
